Your browser is not optimized for viewing this website.

More information »

Continuing Education at PAFA

Filter by Category



In-Person Classes

in CE Course Type

Oil Painting: Comprehending Color (In-Person)

$295

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 3, 2024 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 9 a.m - 12 p.m*
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Without question, every oil painter benefits from color mixing instruction:  Understanding how to accurately see, mix, and adjust color not only allows you to achieve the results you want in your work but also enables you to avoid the pitfalls of wasting paint though inaccurate and poorly understood pigment mixing.  Explore key methods and principles for effective color mixing, using a limited palette to create prismatic hues and earth tone colors. Instruction will address the role of light in the visual perception of color, as well as subtractive and additive color systems. Work from varied still life arrangements to put your color comprehension into practice, and advance your painting skills for all subject matter.  

*Note: No class on August 7. 

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: June 24 
Materials List 
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Plein Air Painting in Valley Forge (Outdoor)

$325

with Charles Muldowney

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 3, 2024 at 10 am, runs for 5 weeks

Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Instructor: Charles Muldowney
Five-Week Short Course (20 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Enjoy open-air painting in beautiful Valley Forge National Historical Park, the encampment site of George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777-1778 and now home to a painter’s delight of lush scenery and historic architecture!  Located in Montgomery County, 35 minutes northwest of Center City Philadelphia, the park features great views of the Schuylkill River, Valley Creek, the Valley Forge Farm, Mt. Joy, Mt. Misery, and many valleys, cabins, and colonial houses, with ample parking and access to restrooms.  Working from diverse landscape subject matter, students will learn the essential materials, tools, techniques, and strategies for painting on site.  Instruction will cover a variety of plein air approaches, including painting with a knife and brush, painting from an imprimatura,  Macchiaioli painting, and working from sketches to block in local color.  Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation.

Image: Charles Muldowney, Valley Forge Sunset, Watercolor. 

Register by: June 24
Materials List 
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Essential Drawing Techniques (In-Person)

$305

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 3, 2024 at 1 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.* 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Draw what you see competently and with confidence. Drawing is not only the basis for other creative endeavors like painting and sculpting, but also a powerful means of describing the world around you and expressing yourself. Instruction will address fundamental concepts including line, shape, perspective, value, and composition. Draw from still life objects, the life model, and more while learning the proper use of drawing materials, sight-measuring methods to accurately gauge proportions and space, shading techniques to develop three-dimensional form and contrast, and means of developing personal expression. Ideal for beginners and those in need of a refresher. Tuition includes a $10 models fee. 

*Note: No class on August 7. 

Image: Roger Chavez. 

Register by: June 24
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Paint the Evening City (Outdoor)

$175

with Frederic Kaplan

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 9, 2024 at 6 pm, runs for 4 weeks

Tuesdays, 6 – 8:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Four-Week Short Course (10 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Learn to paint the unique effects of evening light and activity of Center City and University City, Philadelphia. Discover techniques for managing the shifting light and shadows of the setting sun as it plays across the city’s historic architecture. This plein air option is perfect for summer painting, allowing artists to take advantage of cooling evening temperatures and the subtle or dramatic palette of sunset and dusk.  Previous painting experience required. Restrooms near all locations. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations. 

Image: Sybille Zeldin, Street Scene, Courtesy of student. 

Register by: July 1
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Foundry: An Introduction (In-Person)

$605

with Morgan Dummitt

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 11, 2024 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

This course will cover all aspects of the foundry process. Demonstrations and hands-on instruction will be given in wax modeling and casting, ceramic shell techniques, bronze pouring, metal chasing, TIG welding and patination. All levels welcome.  Note: Tuition includes a $65 lab fee.  

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $760 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: Morgan Dummitt, Hygieia (detail), 2023, Bronze, 27 x 11 x 8 in.

Register by: July 5
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

The Portrait in Oil (In-Person)

$590

with Roberto Osti

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 11, 2024 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Roberto Osti 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Paint portraits from a variety of models using the direct painting method. Examine the proportions and volumes of the head, as well as the placement, structure, and characteristics of the facial features, through preliminary drawings and demonstrations. Develop color using a limited palette to understand how to use chroma, temperature, value, tint, and tone. Instruction will address materials, composition, paint handling, and color mixing, blending, and theory. Homework assignments working from photos, Masterworks, or oneself/others will encourage students to learn to make personal aesthetic and technical choices and to practice concepts addressed in class. Open to all levels, this course is excellent for beginners as well as experienced students who want to review fundamental techniques or who simply enjoy painting portraits from life. Note: Course tuition includes a $50 model fee. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $745 (including models fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: Roberto Osti, copy of William Paxton, in-class demonstration. 

Register by: July 5
Materials List 
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Pour, Peel, and Paint: Abstract Techniques in Acrylics (In-Person)

$295

with Anthony Ciambella

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 11, 2024 at 1 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 1 - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Anthony Ciambella 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

If you believe that painting can be more than applying brush to canvas, this course is for you.  Explore the fluid, sculptural, assembled possibilities of acrylics!  This hands-on, one-of-a-kind journey will take you places that you never thought you would go in acrylic painting:  pour paint to make layers of color that can be peeled up, sculpted into three-dimensional forms, or collaged and layered into other paintings or mixed-media works. Create flexible tiles of acrylic color that can be snipped, shaped, and assembled into mosaics or applied to a variety of surfaces for artistic or decorative effects.  Discover a myriad of alternative supports, brushes, and methods of paint application to incorporate abstract effects into your current body of work.  Push the boundaries of what it means to paint with acrylics in this exciting exploration into experimental techniques. 

Image: Anthony Ciambella.

Register by: July 5
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Watercolor: The Color-Focused Still Life (In-Person)

$295

with Keith Leitner

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 11, 2024 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 6 – 9 p.m. 
Instructor: Keith Leitner 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Explore both the versatility of watercolor and the exciting possibilities of color through still life painting. Learn to capture form with the freshness and fluidity of all prima techniques.  Promote color in your work through instruction on color properties, mixing, and basic theory, as well as how to use hues in combination to create impactful compositions.  Discussions and in-depth demonstrations will enforce all content so that students gain the facility and freedom to use color and painting techniques as means of personal expression. 

Image: Keith Leitner.

Register by: July 5
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 





Forgot password?
Staff Log In